According to the victim’s relatives, suspect Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez was “obsessed with the baby” long before the abduction occurred.
A woman arrested in the case met the family at church and had been spending a lot of time with them since she was nine months pregnant, according to the mother of a three-month-old baby kidnapped from their San Francisco Bay Area homes, KTLA5 reported.
Carolina Ayala told Spanish-language television stations on Wednesday that Yesenia Ramirez was a constant presence at her residence after she gave birth.
Ramirez, 43, was arrested along with Baldomeo Sandoval and Jose Portillo in the kidnapping of Brandon Cuellar, who police say broke into the family’s second-floor San Jose residence on Monday and took the baby while his grandmother offloaded groceries.
Sandoval, who Ayala alleges is Ramirez’s husband, was released without charge on Thursday, according to San Jose Police officials.
“Details regarding Sandoval’s involvement with this case have come to light and he will not be facing charges at this time,” it said.
Portillo, 28, was seen walking toward the apartment with a baby car seat and a small blanket on surveillance video, according to police. The motive for the kidnapping, they said, is still being investigated.
According to the Telemundo affiliate, Ramirez offered to buy supplies for the baby and drove the baby and his grandma, Victoria Mejia, to the store and back. Ramirez had been communicating with Portillo just moments before he took the baby and drove away, according to police.
Ayala was cleaning a house when her sister-in-law called to inform her that her child had gone missing.
On Tuesday, police discovered the unharmed baby inside Portillo’s residence.
Hours later, Ayala was reunited with her son, describing the experience as “having my soul return to my body.”
“I cried out of joy, I cried until I got tired of crying,” she told Telemundo 48.
